


Heartbeats

by browney3dgirl6



Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Smut, Gifts, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Self-Hatred, Storms, Teenagers, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:47:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/browney3dgirl6/pseuds/browney3dgirl6
Summary: Deran remanences on Valentine's past; he was never a fan of the day. Adrian could care less about Valentine's Day, he just wants Deran to be his, to acknowledge that they are more than friends.
Relationships: Deran Cody & Adrian Dolan, Deran Cody/Adrian Dolan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24
Collections: Animal Kingdom ▶ Deran Cody / Adrian Dolan





	Heartbeats

**Author's Note:**

> I had to give you guys some Valentine's Day fluff for these two!
> 
> Hope you enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day💕

**-Deran-**

The rain trickled down the glass as it dripped from the sky. Dark clouds filled the air with thunder booming all around.

They were sitting on Deran’s bed smoking a joint, passing it back and forth every so often. Somehow, they’d gotten on the topic of Valentine’s Day which was just a few days away. Neither of them had ever been too keen on the holiday, especially Deran. Smurf had always smothered him and his brothers on Valentine’s Day, shoving her affection upon them with gifts galore. _He hated it._ There was only one person he ever wanted to share that day with, but he knew he never could; not in the ways he wanted anyway.

He remembered the only times he enjoyed the holiday was when they celebrated at school. The tables were always covered with stickers, glue and various writing utensils. Adrian would be next to him, making cards while Deran goofed off.

“Man, remember how we used to make cards and shit at school?” Deran sat, and thought back on those days. Adrian chimed in, “I remember you always stole the new crayons from the teachers desk.” Deran snorted, “Yea but I always gave them to you.” Adrian pulled his lips together. “Yea.”

When he didn’t say anything else, Deran continued with his earlier thought, “And then we’d have to pass them out to everyone, even the kids no one liked.” Deran chuckled looking to Adrian who pushed him lightly, “You didn’t like anyone. I always had to make extra to pass out for your sorry ass.” It was Deran who shoved Adrian this time.

He stubbed the joint out, placing it on the bedside table before tackling Adrian, pinning him down to the bed on his back. He hovered over him, his blues looking down on him; “I always liked you.” Adrian’s cheeks flushed slightly, “Yea, well I never got a card from you.”

Deran’s face softened as past guilt set in; he couldn’t change the past, and he hated the way Adrian’s blues dimmed with hurt. He ducked his head, skimming his lips across Adrian’s tentatively. Adrian arched up, and their lips pushed together firmly; he pulled Deran down to him, locking his legs around him. Deran darted his tongue out, gliding along Adrian’s lips before pushing his way inside Adrian’s heated mouth.

Their tongues slid against each other as they tangled together into one. Their breaths were hot and sticky as they breathed each other in, griding their bodies together wherever they touched. Deran slipped his fingers under Adrian’s shirt slowly, rubbing at the skin as he went. The other boy let a sigh escape as Deran’s fingers made their way further down until they were creeping just under where his belt buckle lay.

Thunder boomed through the sky as their lips crashed together again in hunger, never getting enough of each other. Deran sped his movements up as he rubbed against Adrian; their dicks twitching with anticipation. His fingers slid further down, stopping when they reached Adrian’s hardened cock. He rubbed up and down Adrian’s length, catching his moans on the tip of his tongue. Adrian’s fingers moved down to Deran’s hips, digging in and holding him closely. As Deran moved his thumb up to rub across Adrian’s slit, he stopped just short when a door slammed from somewhere in the house.

Deran scrambled up off of Adrian, adjusting his clothes just in time to greet Smurf at his open door. _Idiot._

She smiled brightly at him, “Hey baby, be ready to go in ten ok?” He nodded at her and bent reluctantly so she could kiss him on the lips. She paid Adrian no mind, and sauntered off quietly.

Both their kisses lingered on his lips and he _hated_ that Adrian’s wasn’t the last.

When he turned back, Adrian had stood from the bed and was making to leave. Deran offered him a small smirk in place of an apology; Adrian said a simple, “See you later D,” and was gone.

Deran hated the look he’d left on Adrian’s face now and when he’d said that Deran had never given him a card.

_Fucking Valentine’s Day._

He could’ve cared less about the stupid holiday other than the fact that he knew Adrian did, though he’d never admit it; not to Deran at least. Deran knew it had little to do with the actual holiday and everything to do with the fact that Deran never acknowledged their ‘relationship’ in any way.

As he lit a cigarette, he thought back again to when they were kids and how even then he didn’t feel like he could be himself.

The drawers to his right sat mocking him; he knew what was stuffed in there, buried _so_ deep, hidden from even himself. He moved to his dresser, touching a hand out to the middle one, pausing there.

Smurf beckoned to him again and the drawer remained unopen. Fighting his mind and heart was one thing; Smurf was another.

Adrian _had_ to know how he felt right; so why did he feel like he had to prove it to him? Deran knew the answer, he was just too afraid to admit it. It wasn’t Adrian he needed to confess to—it was himself.

As he walked out of his room, hating himself, he thought he understood some of what Adrian was feeling; he hated being the cause of Adrian’s pain.

He wasn’t ready to give Adrian all of him, but he could at least start sharing parts of himself; after all, there had only ever been one person he’d been good at sharing his crayons with. 

**-Adrian-**

The dreaded Valentine’s Day had arrived and was in full swing that day at school. Balloons, cupcakes, and giant cards filled the halls as friends/boyfriends/girlfriends passed them out to one another.

When he was a kid, his mom had always gotten him a candy treat and some type of stuffed animal, but that had stopped years ago. As a teenager, he’d never received anything from that special someone, mainly because that _someone_ was his best friend. Deran had always been afraid to be himself and had never openly admitted his feelings for Adrian, or guys in general. Adrian could understand why, though that didn’t make it any less painful.

He thought back to the other day, Deran on top of him with his blue eyes shinning down. Deran had said, _I always liked you_. Chills pricked his arms at the memory; it was the most Deran had ever acknowledged his feelings for Adrian.

The school day dragged on, Adrian pretending not to be broken in the midst of all the happiness surrounding him.

When he finally got home later that day, he couldn’t wait to escape to his room. His mom told him that he was on his own for dinner as her and his dad were going out, and that Jess had a date with her boyfriend. Adrian didn’t know what was more pathetic—that he was being left alone on Valentine’s Day or that he was happy about it.

He worked on homework for a couple hours and then his parents took off, leaving him with money to order in. Deran hadn’t reached out to him at all that day, not that it surprised him; he was always hopeful, too hopeful.

A few hours later, he was sitting on the couch with a half-eaten box of pizza in front of him. It had come in the shape of a heart because apparently _everything_ had to mock him today, including the fucking pizza. Now it sat half-eaten, broken apart, just like Adrian’s own heart.

There was a knock at the door; Adrian was hopeful it was the delivery guy with a replacement pizza in its normal rounded shape. Pulling the door open, he was surprised to see Deran standing there with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Adrian eyed him curiously; he didn’t think Deran even owned a backpack. Deran looked him up and down, “So…you gonna let me in or what?”

Sighing, Adrian stepped aside and let in the only person he wanted to see today, even though he knew he probably shouldn’t.

Plopping down on the couch, Deran set his backpack down in front of him. Adrian moved to sit next to him though not too close, which Deran had made difficult by sitting on the middle cushion.

Deran’s eyes floated around the room, “You the only one home?” Adrian nodded his head Deran’s direction, “Mmhmm.”

The tv played in the background as they sat in silence; Deran fidgeted next to him. Adrian leaned his head back into the couch, closing his eyes, though he didn’t miss when Deran’s knee knocked into his.

Adrian’s dark blues opened to the other boy running a hand through his long hair, eventually pushing it back and off of his face. His hands went to the backpack in front of him which he opened steadily. Deran grasped something and pulled it out, covering his palm over it.

Adrian sat up, his curiosity getting the better of him. Clearing his throat, Deran started, “Uhm Cath was making these with Lena and she left the shit out, so…” Deran trailed off, turning to Adrian nervously, holding out his closed fist. Slowly, Adrian reached out his own hand, laying it flat beneath Deran’s until Deran dropped the contents into it.

Clasping onto it, Adrian brought it closer to examine properly. A silver chain was connected to a heart that looked like it’d been made from clay and shaped together. The top-side of the heart was pushed in; an indentation had been left that was painted a turquoise color.

He stared at it for a minute, looking up when Deran spoke, “I kinda fucked up on the fingerprint. Was supposed to look like a heart.”

Adrian couldn’t find the words; he simply moved closer to Deran and handed him back the necklace, ducking his head down. It took Deran a second to catch on; once he did, he placed the necklace over Adrian’s head. Deran’s fingers lingered on the back of his neck until he was cupping Adrian’s face and bringing him closer.

Their noses met, and Deran pressed his lips to Adrian’s gently. Adrian leaned into the kiss, pushing himself closer to Deran. He kissed him reverently as a thank you for the necklace. As their tongues began to twist together, Deran pulled away suddenly.

He breathed out urgently, “Wait, wait. There’s something else.”

Adrian watched as Deran went back to his bag and dug around until he found what he was looking for.

A small bundle of papers was pulled out and placed between them. Deran anxiously looked up to Adrian, his expression unreadable. Adrian watched as Deran’s adam’s apple moved up and down before he said anything else.

Handing Adrian the stack, Deran said, “I know you said I never gave you any cards, but I kept all the ones you gave me.”

Adrian’s brows furrowed slightly. Opening one of the folded papers, he found kid drawings and scribbles; the rest were much the same. Almost all of them had the ocean drawn on them with stick figures next to it, each one signed—To: my best friend, love: Adrian.

The cards were from when they were just kids, the ones they made while in class. Adrian remembered making them though he couldn’t believe Deran had held onto them for all these years; he barely remembered giving them to him.

Deran’s voice startled him out of his thoughts, “You’re my best friend ok? Sorry if I’m shitty at showing it.”

There was a lot of underlying meaning to that, but Adrian knew what he meant and didn’t see the point of pushing further; that was for another night.

He nudged himself into Deran, burying his head into his chest. Deran wrapped his arms around him securely, pulling Adrian to his lap.

Breathing into him, Adrian said, “You’re my best friend too Der. Sorry I didn’t get you anything.”

Deran dipped his head down to Adrian’s, whispering low in his ear, “I’ve got all I need right here.”

They curled into each other and Adrian quietly whispered back, “I always liked you too.” Deran’s arms tightened around him as he pulled Adrian impossibly closer, their hearts beating rapidly.

It was a clear night outside, not a dark could in the sky. The storm had subsided for now, no chance of rain in the upcoming days.

Some hearts were broken, while others had been mended; and then there were some that were simply beating for each other, falling into sync as one.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! (:
> 
> Come yell at me about these two on  my Tumblr


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